Structural, Morphological, and Optical Properties of TiO₂/CdS Core-Shell System Prepared by Two Method for Photoelectrocatalytic Application

Abstract The present study utilized the hydrothermal technique to carry out the deposition of films of TiO 2 . The deposition of CdS on the TiO 2 films was accomplished using the chemical bath deposition (CBD) and successive ionic layer adsorption and reaction (SILAR) methods. The morphological and structural characteristics of the TiO 2 /CdS thin films were investigated using a combination of XRD, SEM, EDX, and AFM techniques. Additionally, the optical properties of the nanostructures were examined using UV-Visible and PL spectroscopic techniques. The X-Ray Diffraction pattern of all TiO 2 films revealed the formation of the anatase phase. The CdS present in the Ti/TiO 2 /CdS samples exhibited a hexagonal structure. The hydrothermal technique employed in the preparation of the TiO 2 thin films resulted in the formation of nanofiber morphology, which was evident from the SEM images. The absorption edge data for the TiO 2 /CdS films demonstrated a shift towards the visible region, indicating a decrease in the bandgap as compared to the TiO 2 nanostructure. Significantly improved photoelectrocatalytic performance was observed in the Ti/TiO 2 /CdS samples prepared using the CBD method, surpassing that of the Ti/TiO 2 /CdS samples prepared using the SILAR method.